Since it was officially formed as a company in 2014, Eagles and Dragons Publishing has been designing and producing quality ebooks and paperbacks for each of our titles.
And there have been a lot of exciting changes! We are growing as a company.
In 2021, we moved our cover design in-house, and in 2022 we began producing our very first, carefully crafted, hardcover books with wonderful results. And we’re continuing to put out more!
But there was always a piece missing: Audiobooks.
The reason for this is that audiobook production is extremely time-consuming and very costly… Unless you do it yourself.
Many of our readers began to ask about audiobooks, and so, we polled them to ask what they would prefer: an audiobook with professional actors playing our characters, or an in-house production with the author reading his or her own work.
As it turns out, 98% preferred an audiobook that was read by the author.
It is here that we should give a huge shout-out to our Patreon patrons for their generous monthly support, for it allowed us to begin acquiring the audio recording equipment we needed to make all of this happen. Thank you Patrons!
Adam at work on Saturnalia in the Eagles and Dragons Publishing recording booth
After some months of learning what is involved in recording an audiobook – technical specifications, soundproofing, and even learning how to read aloud for an extended period of time – Adam finally got down to recording! And, as with anything, the first try was definitely a learning experience. But we got there!
We thought it would be prudent to begin our audiobook creation journey with a shorter novel, but also one that listeners could enjoy at this time of year. And with the start of the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia just around the corner, on December 17th, we thought this would be perfect.
This is not a big production with a cast of actors and sound effects. Just as some of our readers requested, our audiobooks are going to consist of the author reading his or her own work, just as if they were sitting with you at home, reading by the fire.
We hope you enjoy the experience.
Saturnalia, the audiobook, is being distributed to new retailers every week, but it is already available to purchase at a special launch price until November 30th, 2022 at the following audiobook retailers:
Every year before Christmas, I like to read an original, unabridged version of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. CLICK HERE for a free download of the e-book.
Most people are familiar with this classic tale, and for me, as a reader and author, I think it is perhaps one of the most perfectly executed and moving stories ever written.
I never tire of reading it, and every time I do read it, I take something new away with me.
Dickens’ tale of Ebenezer Scrooge is also one that has been told and retold myriad times over the years in fiction, musicals, theatre, and film. Even Matthew McConaughey and Barbie have their own versions of this story!
Which leads me to Saturnalia.
The last couple of times I read A Christmas Carol, I found myself thinking that this story, or something akin to it, would be amazing set in the world of ancient Rome, not during Christmas, but during Saturnalia, one of the most glorious festivals of ancient Rome.
So, inspired by the Republican era bust of Cato the Elder, I set out to write my own version of the story.
Cato the Elder
With Saturnalia, however, I didn’t just want to retell the story verbatim, but rather use the framework of Dickens’ tale to guide me as a sort of story architecture. It was important to me that I make my own, unique mark on the story. It was important to me that I set it firmly in the world and traditions of ancient Rome from a historically-accurate point of view, but also from the point of view of ancient belief and religious practices.
And I’m quite thrilled with the results!
Here is the full synopsis of Saturnalia: A Tale of Wickedness and Redemption in Ancient Rome…
Long before Ebenezer Scrooge, there was Catus Pompilius, the meanest man in Rome.
It is the time of Saturnalia, the most highly-anticipated festival across the whole of the Roman Empire.
In the ancient city of Rome, citizens and slaves are preparing to honour the gods and to enjoy a time of freedom and revelry among family and friends. Saturnalia truly is the best of days for all!
That is, for all except the wickedest landlord in Rome: Catus Pompilius.
With a blatant disregard for gods and men alike, Catus Pompilius moves through the streets of Rome spreading misery wherever he can, dousing the Saturnalian light of the world around him.
However, this Saturnalia, the gods have decided that Catus’ time has come. Judgment is upon him!
Will Catus Pompilius be able to redeem himself and prevail upon the gods’ mercy? Or will their divine wrath hurl him into the darkest depths of Tartarus for all eternity?
Read this dark tale of gods and men, wickedness and redemption, to find out!
Saturnalia isn’t just a tale for the holiday season, something to read by the side of a cozy fire. This story is something that fans of ancient Rome will, I hope, enjoy anytime of year.
And for fans of the Eagles and Dragons series, the time period and city of Rome will feel very familiar to you.
The book is available for pre-order in some stores now, but the official launch is on November 1st, 2018, and there will be special notice for Eagles and Dragons Publishing subscribers.
So, dear friends, do stay tuned and watch your in-boxes!
Thank you for reading, and we do hope that you enjoy this new and exciting journey into the world of ancient Rome!
Today we have our second post in the Roman Ghosts series, and this one is guaranteed to give you shivers.
If you missed the first post about Shades in Eburacum, you can check it out by CLICKING HERE.
Many of you have written to us about Roman ghost sightings in the UK, and we are keen to research them and share with everyone. Rest assured, they’re all on the list! Today’s post comes by way of a tip from Eagles and Dragons reader, Michael Dennis.
Aerial view of Reculver
This particular look at Roman ghosts takes us to Reculver on the Kentish coast in England, in particular a site on the promontory at the mouth of the Watsum Channel, facing the Isle of Thanet.
Before we get into the spectral sightings associated with this remote location, we should, of course, look briefly at the history of the place.
Reculver was the site of Roman Regulbium which comes from the Celtic name meaning ‘at the promontory’.
It was on this site during the Claudian invasion of Britain in A.D. 43 that a Roman fortlet was first built. Tense times in the land, of course. Eventually, the fort was connected by road to the settlement of Durovernum, modern Canterbury.
Remains of the Roman walls of Regulbium
Eventually, in the late second century, a larger Roman castrum was built on the site, and this included a basilica as part of the principia (headquarters building), barracks, a bathhouse, and even a nearby oven which was located outside the walls. The walls themselves were almost fifteen feet high and ten feet thick. Sadly, much of the fort has been lost to the sea and erosion.
What does remain are two of the Roman towers which were incorporated into the early medieval Saxon church of St. Mary’s. More on these towers later…
The Notitia Dignitatum, the great Roman administrative document of the early fifth century, indicates that the Cohors I Baetasiorum was stationed at Regulbium. These troops of the Baetasii tribe inhabiting the lands between the Rhine and the Meuse, in Germania Inferior, were a good distance from their homes.
Regulbium was apparently abandoned after A.D. 360, but from what we have been reading, it may well be that some of the troops never went home.
Map of the fort showing how much has been lost to erosion and the sea.
Try and imagine a soldier, or a cohort of soldiers, based in a specific location for an extended period of time. Routine and disciplina, as the Romans called it, were central to a soldier’s life. Sometimes they lived and died in a specific place, had families, lost loved ones, took life and shed blood.
Well, in Regulbium to this day, it seems that some of the Roman soldiers are determined to keep to their schedules and their posts.
There have been many reports of Roman soldiers seen on patrol at Reculver fort (Regulbium) or keeping ghostly sentry duty there, so much so that visitors, even in summer, claim that there is something very ‘wrong’ about the place.
Apparently, the site of the Roman fort is so haunted that it has become a destination for amateur ghost hunters!
Artist impression of Regulbium
But it isn’t just the ghosts of groups of Roman soldiers on patrol that people have reported seeing. There have also been chilling reports of a lone Roman soldier standing stolidly at his sentry post somewhere between the two remaining towers that stand there to this day.
What might the shade of that Roman be looking out for? A returning patrol? Raiding Saxon ships coming into the isle between the fort and Thanet?
Who knows? One thing is for sure, there are more than just the shades of Roman soldiers lurking around the fort.
There have also been numerous reports of phantom babies crying on the wind when people have visited the fort!
One might think that this is just the gusting wind playing tricks on visitors to the fort. Then again, perhaps not.
The remaining towers of Regulbium, incorporated into the church of St. Mary’s
When excavations were carried out at the fort, the burials of ten infants were found within the fort itself, and six of these were associated with specifically Roman buildings.
There are some theories that the infants were part of a ritual sacrifice there, but it is not known if they were dead already (stillborn), or if they were killed as part of the ritual.
Seeing as Romans more or less frowned on human sacrifice (apart from in the arena), the slaying of babies does seem to be a bit of a stretch, but one never knows. Perhaps the Baetasii tribe from the Rhine region did that sort of thing, perhaps not.
Either way, the remains of infants have been found, and whatever the circumstances of their deaths, it seems likely that the wailing of their little shades at the fort would be enough to turn the legs of the toughest legionary to mush.
Have you been to the ruins of Regulbium? Would you go after reading this?
I’m not sure I would.
The towers of Reculver from the current beach.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this second post in the Roman Ghosts series. For more information on the haunted site you can check out the book Haunted Kent, by Janet Cameron.
For information about the archaeology and ruins of Roman Regulbium, you can check out the Historic England page by CLICKING HERE.
Remember, if you know of any Roman ghost stories in any part of the former Roman Empire that you would like to share, just send us an email through the Contact Uspage of the website and we’ll look into it.
Welcome to the first post in what we hope will be an ongoing blog series called Roman Ghosts.
We all love a good ghost story, and as everyone reading this presumably loves ancient history, we thought it would be fun to combine the two.
In this series (which will be posted sporadically as we discover more Roman ghost stories) we will not be setting out to prove or disprove anything. We’re not scientists, myth busters, or ghost hunters.
With the Roman Ghosts series, we’re interested in the stories and sightings themselves. At the end of this inaugural post, you’ll see how you can help and be a part of this.
Artist impression of Eburacum, Roman York
The first Roman ghost story we’re going to look at is one that you may be familiar with.
In the province of Britannia, one of the principal legionary bases was that of Eburacum (also ‘Eboracum’), or modern York.
York is a beautiful city today with some amazing medieval remains, York Minster, the Shambles, the Yorvik Viking Centre and more. I’ve been to York several times and enjoyed myself immensely each time.
The Roman ruins of York are less visible than the grand medieval remnants such as the walls and Petergate, but they are there.
In fact, the oldest part of York today was built pretty much on top of the original legionary base.
Ordnance Survey Map – Roman York
Today’s High Petergate runs from the northwest to southwest along the line of the orginal Via Principalis of the legionary base, and York Minster was built on top of the Principia, the headquarters building of the legion. Among the more visible Roman ruins is the multi-angular tower located to the southwest of Petergate itself.
If you know where to look in York, there are indeed Roman remains to be seen, including beneath York Minster, and, one of my favourite places, beneath the Roman Bath pub where you can visit the remains of the fortress’ baths after a pint and a good meal.
Remains of the Roman baths of Eburacum, on display beneath the Roman Bath pub
York, or Eburacum, was famous for its connections with a couple emperors, including Constantine the Great, whose statue sits outside the minster, and before him our own Septimius Severus. In fact, I’ve set part of Warriors of Epona, and the upcoming Isle of the Blessed in Eburacum during Severus’ time there.
Roman (with medieval additions) multi-angular tower in Eburacum
But we’re here to talk about ghosts, aren’t we?
On my first visit to York I took a walking tour. Our guide told us many things, but what stuck with me the most from that tour was the tale of a young plumber who, in 1953, says he saw Roman soldiers come out of a wall where he was working in the cellar of the Treasurer’s House.
There are many theories about places holding memory, and about how the spirits of the departed may linger in a place where they spent time.
Eburacum was home to two British legions for over 300 years! First, it was garrisoned by the IXth Hispana Legion from about A.D. 71-121. This is the famous ninth legion that some believe went missing after a campaign in Caledonia, and which was made famous in the novel The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff. After that legion vanished (or was assigned to another part of the Empire), Eburacum was garrisoned by the VI Victrix Legion which remained there for close to three hundred years and may have been the last legion to leave Britannia when Rome pulled out.
Needless to say, a few generations of Romans called Eburacum ‘home’.
The Treasurer’s House, York (picture: The National Trust)
The Treasurer’s House is located just to the north of the minster, near the Roman Via Decumana of the old legionary base. This is where, in 1953, eighteen-year-old Harry Martindale, an apprentice plumber, first saw a troop of about twenty ghostly Roman soldiers.
According to Martindale, he was working alone in the cellar of the Treasurer’s House, the lowest point of which was the original Roman road, possibly the Via Decumana itself.
While he was on a ladder, he heard an odd sound, as if some sort of music was playing, a horn of some sort, perhaps a cornu. He looked down from his ladder and there saw the top of a helmet come out of the solid wall he was working at.
He stumbled down and fell into a corner to watch in terror as several legionaries, as well as a mounted cavalryman, marched out of the wall, along the road, and then disappeared into an opposite wall!
The wall in the cellar of the Treasurer’s House where Martindale saw the Roman ghosts come out.
The strange, and terrifying thing is that Martindale did not say they were cloudy apparitions such as we might expect ghosts to be. Rather, as he sat on the floor watching them, he noticed that they looked as real as you or I. He could see the details of their armour, weapons, clothing, and even the stubble upon their faces!
He also noticed that when they came out of the wall, they were only visible from the knees up, that is, until they stepped onto the Roman road itself and their feet finally became visible.
Now, if that doesn’t send a chill down your spine, I don’t know what will!
Harry Martindale in an interview years later in front of the wall where he saw the ghostly Romans
Harry described all he had seen to historians and they confirmed that the details he described, of the armour and weapons etc. were genuine and accurate, and may have been Roman auxiliary troops. It has also been hypothesized that, because of the date of that particular road level and the details Harry described, the ghostly troopers may well have been part of the IXth Hispana Legion which had gone missing.
Who knows. If the shades of these legionaries experienced a traumatic slaughter in the highlands of Caledonia, then perhaps their ghosts eventually returned to Eburacum where they still march along the roads today?
Petergate in York, built on the Roman Via Principalis
Harry Martindale was not the only one to have seen the shades of these Roman soldiers over the years. Before him, the old caretaker had seen them, but said nothing for fear of being ridiculed. A later caretaker also saw them after Harry’s experience.
My guide in York claimed that other Roman legionary ghosts had been spotted marching down the streets of York at night too, and it’s not hard to imagine when you walk around that ancient city. It seems made for ghosts!
I don’t know if the latter is true, or if Martindale’s story is legitimate. It does seem odd though that a young working boy could have such a detailed knowledge of Roman legionary or auxiliary kit, doesn’t it?
Either way, it’s a fantastic Roman ghost story!
Roman soldiers – a legionary and an auxiliary cavalryman (illustration by Angus McBride)
Earlier, I mentioned that there was a way in which you can be a part of the Roman Ghosts blog series…
If you know of any other Roman ghost stories in any country across what was the Roman Empire, then please do let us know about it and, if possible, send us a link to sources or articles that refer to that particular ghost story or sighting.
If you have any stories to share with us that you would like us to look at, just reply to this e-mail or go to the Contact Us page on the Eagles and Dragons Publishing website.
Anyone who makes us aware of a Roman ghost story that we write up will get a mention in the blog itself.
For now, we hope you’ve enjoyed this first post in the Roman Ghosts series.
Thank you for reading.
To watch an interview with Harry Martindale about his experience, check out the first half of the video below:
